The present invention relates to a cell isolation instrument which is used in the field of clinics/research of regenerative medicine, or that of cell culture, and more particularly to a cell isolation instrument which is used for isolating cells from a tissue (body tissue) with a high survival rate.
There is a technique in which, in order to obtain isolated living cells, a tissue is minced with a sharp blade, and the minced tissue is subjected to an enzyme process with collagenase or the like to digest the extracellular matrix.
In the technique, procedures of the enzyme process and cell recovery must be repeatedly performed. Therefore, the technique requires labor and a long time period. The technique has a further problem in that the cell recovery rate is dispersed because of differences in the mincing process with using a blade and in the permeation rate in the enzyme process, etc.
JP-T-2007-505631 discloses an apparatus in which the mincing process and the enzyme process are automatized. In a container disposed in the apparatus, a blade member which is rotatable about the central axis of the container, and a baffle which relatively provides a resistance to the movement of the blade member are placed. When a tissue from which isolated cells are to be obtained is loaded into the container and the blade member is rotated, the tissue in the state where the blade member bites into the tissue is rotated together, and collides with the baffle. The tissue is cut by the blade member because of the resistance provided by the baffle. When the rotation of the blade member is continued for a predetermined time period, the cutting is repeated, so that the tissue is minced. An enzyme treatment solution is previously loaded into the container, and therefore the enzyme process is performed in parallel.
In the configuration disclosed in JP-T-2007-505631, the mincing process and the enzyme process can be automatized. In order to recover isolated cells, however, a cell suspension which is obtained as a result of the mincing process and the enzyme process must be taken out to the outside of the container, and then subjected to a filtering process. In realization of an automated system which stably recovers a large amount of isolated cells, the burden on the user must be mitigated, and influences of human procedures on the number and quality of isolated cells must be reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce processes to be performed by the user, as far as possible. In the configuration disclosed in JP-T-2007-505631, however, the reduction of processes to be performed by the user is insufficient. Consequently, the configuration is inadequate for realizing an automated system.